Rice, corn mills close shop in over 1,000 barangays

Small-scale rice and corn millers in over 1,000 barangays closed shop in a span of a decade after they were dominated by bigger players amid the influx of cheaper imported grain supplies.

- JASPER EMMANUEL ARCALAS

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that in 2023, there were 15,436 barangays with rice and corn mills, 6.3 percent lower than the 16,476 barangays recorded in 2013.

The figures were part of the PSA's Census of Agricultural and Fisheries Availability of Agricultural, Aquaculture and Fisheries Machinery, Equipment and Services in Barangays, which was conducted in 2022, 10 years after the previous census.

The easing of import rules through the deregulation of the rice industry allowed the entry of more affordable foreign grain supplies, resulting in a stiffer competition in the domestic milling industry, according to the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. (PCAFI).